Hurricane
Charley not only hit Sanibel Island, Florida, home of the J.N.
“Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, it also passed
directly over Cape Romain and
Waccamaw National
Wildlife Refuges in South Carolina. All employees at those stations
escaped unhurt and only a few Service personnel had damage to their
homes. Immediately following the hurricane, the Service dispatched recovery
teams of more than 100 employees for recovery operations.

Status in Florida:

In Florida, the recovery
team is using heavy equipment such as front-end loaders, dump trucks,
backhoes, as well as many chain saw crews to help the local community
recover by clearing miles of roads of the hundreds of trees which
had been blown down across them at Sanibel, Fl., home of J.N. “Ding”
Darling National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). Service personnel worked
closely with the communities of Sanibel and Captiva to open roads
and secure power lines in order to ensure public safety, as the
first priority. Now that the islands are open to the public, the
Service will focus on refuge recovery.

Yesterday afternoon,
Aug. 18, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service chain saw operator, George
Pelt, 36, of Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, was
injured felling trees while clearing power line right of ways along
Periwinkle Road at Sanibel Island, Fl. He was cutting down a 110
ft high Australian Pine (not including the top which had been blown
off by Hurricane Charley), which had a 48 inch diameter, at chest
height. While escaping the falling tree, he was pinned under it
and was extricated by fellow service members who lifted limbs off
of him. He was taken to Lee Memorial Hospital, Ft. Myers, Fl., where
he was treated and released at 1:00 a.m. Aug. 19, suffering from
bruises (contusions) and lacerations to his lower extremities and
torso. He will be taken off the line and returned home to his station
today for a 3-5 day rest period, with further medical monitoring.
Photo of George Pelt, taken yesterday prior to the accident, can
be found at: http://southeast.fws.gov/august04/PhotoGallery/index.html

Refuge law enforcement
officers from around the region have been helping local police secure
miles of shoreline against potential looters on a 24-hour basis
on land and water. A Service airplane and helicopter have been used
to help identify critical needs for the community and the refuge,
as well as check on manatee enforcement speed-zone signs. Offices
of Law Enforcement personnel have also been on the water checking
to ensure that damaged manatee speed zone signs are not hazards
to navigation. Many of the signs have been blown away, some snapped
at water level. Crews have been dispatched to remove the damaged
signs.

The specially trained
and equipped Service employees are supporting recovery and providing
security at Sanibel and “Ding” Darling from 18 refuges
in Arkansas, Kentucky, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi,
South Carolina, and Office of Law Enforcement in Florida and the
Regional Office in Atlanta. Ding Darling has sustained damage to
the administrative headquarters, the Tarpon Bay Concessionaire Facility,
outbuildings and some gates and fences. Wildlife Drive is blocked
by downed trees. The refuge remains closed to the public.

Initial wildlife losses
are as yet undetermined, but damage to habitat is widespread throughout
the islands in Charlotte Harbor, Pine Island Sound, including damage
at Pine Island NWR and Island Bay NWR. The hurricane shredded trees
and mangroves of leaves and branches in the islands of Charlotte
Harbor and Pine Island Sound. FWS is working closely with USGS to
determine the extent of the terrain changes.

In other parts of Florida,
minor damage was reported at Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge,
east of Daytona Beach, and Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge,
near Cape Canaveral. These refuges were able to handle their own
recovery efforts and still provide personnel for those harder hit
at “Ding.” Both refuges are open to the public.

Status in South
Carolina:

When the hurricane hit
South Carolina, Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, northeast
of Charleston, was in its crosshairs, followed by Waccamaw National
Wildlife Refuge, halfway between Charleston and Myrtle Beach. Winds
had dropped to 80-plus miles-per-hour, so most of the damage was
confined to downed trees across roads, but the Dominick House on
Bull Island lost roof shingles and sustained some water damage.
Waccamaw NWR has flooding, but damage is not expected to be great.
Both refuges are open to the public. Several other refuges helped
Cape Romain and Waccamaw NWR recover, including Savannah NWR, Carolina
Sandhills NWR, ACE Basin NWR, as well as Regional Office employees
from Atlanta.

Future Actions:

Current
plans call for Service personnel to be rotated out after a week or
so to insure continued safe operations. In Florida, with weather in
the upper 90s, plus 90 percent humidity, a heat index of 113 degrees
is common. Safe recovery operations are the top priority. In South
Carolina, emergency response operations are expected completed next
Wednesday, August 25.